Exceptional — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Exceptional (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. being out of the ordinary

   "an exceptional amount of snow fell in March"

   similar: aberrant, aberrated, abnormal, anomalous, atypical, especial, exceeding, extraordinaire, extraordinary, freak, odd, peculiar, phenomenal, preternatural, rare, singular, uncommon, uncustomary, unique, unusual, unwonted
   related: conspicuous, notable, noticeable, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, salient, striking, bizarre, deviant, eccentric, freakish, monstrous, oddball, outlandish, quaint, strange, weird, incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, unimaginable, unthinkable
   opposite: common, customary, normal, ordinary, typical, unexceptional, unextraordinary, usual
   near: everyday, familiar, frequent

2. deprived of the power to perform one or more natural bodily activities

   "her experience working with exceptional children was rewarding and inspiring"

   similar: differently abled, disabled, impaired
   related: special-needs, hemiplegic, paralyzed, paraplegic, quadriplegic, immobile, immobilized, ailing, diseased, ill, incapacitated, sick, unfit, unhealthy, unsound, unwell
   opposite: able-bodied, abled, nondisabled, unimpaired
   near: bouncing, chipper, fit, hale, healthy, hearty, robust, sound, well, whole, wholesome

3. having or showing quickness of mind

   "a special school for exceptional children"

   similar: alert, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
   related: apt, ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, heady, insightful, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, genial, highbrow, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, creative, inventive, judicious, prudent, sage, sane, sensible, sound, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, logical, rational, reasonable
   opposite: airheaded, birdbrained, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unbrilliant, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
   near: feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, half-baked, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, silly, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, nonintellectual, unacademic, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany